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2 Today’s objectives Review of IIO through the article: Pica 2005Presentations I – critically engage with diverse language learning contextsGain an elementary understanding of socio-cultural theory and its application to the field of second language learning.Introduction to concept maps: Task for next week

4 Discussion In your language learning experience…do you ever think in the L2?if so, in what type of situations?Do you ever talk in the L2 with a fellow L2 learner?Do you feel it helps you in mastering the L2?Why? Why not?

5 Overview of the session1. Vygotskian socio-cultural theory – key principles.Language in SCTMediationZone of proximal development (ZPD)RegulationScaffoldingLearning metaphors2. Reflecting on your own learning.

7 Lev Vygotsky (1896 – 1934) Social psychologistHe was a contemporary of Jean Piaget. His work, which was not translated into English until 1962, is mainly concerned with general ideas about learning (not with language specifically).

8 Literary Works Thought and Language Thinking and SpeechCrisis in PsychologyMind and SocietyCollected Works 6 volumesHis Books were published after his death in They were not released or known of in the West until 1958.~Thought and Language came out in 1962 but he wrote it in 1934.~ Lev wrote Crisis in Psychology in It tells about the nature of a crisis, development of sciences and trends in psychology.~ Mind and society was published in 1978.

9 Language in SCTVygotsky was concerned with the relationship between thought and language.He saw language as the means for mediating higher level thinking skills.Emphasis on semantic properties of language rather than its formal properties.Emphasis on meaning rather than form.

11 Vygotsky and Piaget Who stands for which model?Learning leads developmentversusDevelopment leads learning

12 Vygotsky Best known for his work on Learning as a social interactionAn infant establishes meaningin the interaction with care givers (intermental)and then internalises it (intramental).

13 The social origin of mental functioning:”Any function in the child`s cultural development appears twice, or on two planes. First it appears on the social plane, and then on the psychological plane. First it appears between people as an interpsychological category, and then within the child as an intrapsycholgical category.” (Vygotsky, 1978:57)

16 The mediated mindThe role of artifacts (tools and activities) and other people in learning.

17 The importance of toolsHumans use tools to understand and mediate their social and physical environments Tools are socially generated and transmitted within cultures through joint activity

18 Mediated action M Artefact S O Subject ObjectSubject and object are seen not only as ”directly” connected but simultaneouslyas ”indirectly” connected through a medium constituted of artefacts.(Cole 2003:119)

23 Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)(the zone of potential/ next development)‘the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers.’(Vygotsky, 1978: 86).

26 The importance of other peopleREGULATION AND ASSISTED PERFORMANCE.Object-regulation (have no control over objects)Other-regulation (gain control with assistance ofsocioculturally-organized concepts, artefacts and activities)Self-regulation (gain control through inner speech)

27 From other to self regulation in ZPDFrom other to self regulation in ZPDtransition from other-regulation activity (inter-mental) self-regulation activity (intra-mental) = learner gains increasing control over learning behaviours and the environment (Lantolf & Appel, 1994).

29 ScaffoldingVygotsky believed that when a student is at the zone of proximal development for a particular task, providing the appropriate assistance (scaffolding) will give the learner the extra help to achieve the task. Once the student, with the benefit of scaffolding, masters the task, the scaffolding can then be removed and the student will then be able to complete the task again on his own. (from other to self regulation)Theory developed by Jerôme Bruner in 1950s

30 Jerôme Bruner *1915 PolandCognitive psychologist / Professor at HarvardInstruction must be concerned with the experiences and contexts that make the student willing and able to learn (readiness).Instruction should be designed to facilitate extrapolation and or fill in the gaps (going beyond the information given).

31 Scaffolding (Bruner)Scaffolding is a form of adult assistance that enables a child or novice to solve a problem, carry out a task or achieve a goal which would be beyond his unassisted efforts.It is a process whereby the adult controls those elements of the task that are initially beyond the learner’s capacity, thus allowing the learner to complete those that are within existing capabilities.(Lantolf & Thorne, 2006: 107).

32 Instructional scaffoldingInstructional scaffolding is the provision of sufficient support to promote learning when concepts and skills are being first introduced to students.

33 ScaffoldingWhat scaffolding do you provide for your learners?And how do they move from other regulation to self regulation?

35 Learning metaphors Acquisition metaphor Participation metaphor‘knowledge as a commodity that is accumulated by the learner’ (Pavlenko and Lantolf 2000:155–6)Participation metaphor‘obliges us to think of learning “as aprocess of becoming members of a certain community”’ (Sfard 1998:6)Contribution metaphorunderstands the language learner as a potential contributor to common goals. (Grabois 2008:285)

36 Sociocultural theory and classroom practiceSociocultural theory highlights the importance of people, activities and tools in supporting learning and development. It suggests that classroom activities and practices need to be designed to enable learners to work within their ZPD.

37 The problem with operationalizing the concept of the ZPD in our classrooms.How do we establish a child’s current level of development?How do we know when to increase/ reduce our level of assistance or support?How can we teach in ways that can accommodate the very different development needs of our learners?If the ZPD is ultimately best understood as an activity between learner and mediating artefact/ significant other then is it possible to make any pedagogical generalizations at all?

38 Some pedagogical insights developed from socio-cultural theorySociocultural theory stresses the important role that people and artefacts play in learning. According to SCT, learning is not an individual ‘autonomous’ process and so the quality of the learning experience provided by teachers is significant to the learning journey of the learner.Based on SCTQualities of good mediation/scaffolding.Dynamic assessment (within ZPD)Differentiated instruction (activities and tasks)

39 RecapWhat’s difference between socio-cultural perspectives on learning and other perspectives (Behaviourism, Cognitive psychology?What are them main concepts related to socio-cultural theory?

40 Vygotskian SCT comparedVygotsky and PiagetLearning leads development versus development leads learning)Vygotsky and ChomskyFrom inside to outside versus from outside to insideVygotsky’s ZPD versus Krashen’s i+ 1Quality of input versus quality of dynamic interaction between learner and significant otherVygotsky and BehaviourismLearning from the world versus learning in the world.

41 Some SC theorists OR ‘Neo-Vygotskians’In Russia by Leont’ev, especially interaction of consciousness and activity – elaborated as version of activity theory promoted by Engeström.In USA developed in work of Bruner, Cole and Wertsch in developmental psychology, cultural anthropology and sociolinguistics. This strand is most commonly called sociocultural or cultural-historical.In N. America developed in relation to second language learning by Lantolf (1994; Lantolf and Appel; Lantolf, 2000; Pavlenko, **2004; Swain et al, 2002.In UK delivered in relation to general classroom studies by Mercer (1995; 2000) & Wells (1999).

42 SCT and its followers in SLAProfessor James P. LantolfPenn State University, USA

44 cognition or social interaction?Question:What comes first in the learning processcognition or social interaction?

45 Teacher-student or student-student?“Dialogue among learners can be as effective as instructional conversations between teachers and learners. Working collaboratively, people are able to co-construct distributed expertise as a feature of the group [social], and individual members are then able to exploit this expertise as an occasion for learning to happen [cognition]. (…) Learners are capable of scaffolding each other through the use of strategies that parallel those relied upon by experts.” Lantolf, 2002:106

46 Social interaction is central……cognition originates in social interaction and is shaped by cultural and sociopolitical processes. That is, cultural and sociopolitical processes are central, rather than incidental, to cognitive development. “Watson-Gegeo 2004: 332How does this relate to Pica’s (2005) article?

47 Our teaching is based on combinationIIOStudent readingInteractive lecturesOutput – presentation, essaysFeedbackSCTDynamic assessment (formative & summative)Social participation in class, learning as a social activityEssay based on specific context known to you (ZPD)

48 Task: concept map Task: produce a concept map  See hand outPlease construct a concept map – that reflects the following:Main strands of theoretical thinking with regard to how people learnMain theories relating to first language learning / second language learningMain theoristsCan you position your own language learning context in this? See hand out

49 Next week: Learner strategies and stylesToday’s objectivesNext week: Learner strategies and stylesReview of IIO through the article: Pica 2005Presentations I – critically engage with diverse language learning contextsGain an elementary understanding of socio-cultural theory and its application to the field of second language learning.Introduction to concept maps: Task for next week